


Interviews with Nate Hale

by ThebanSacredBand



Series: Liberty Song (AKA the Turn band AU nobody asked for) [3]
Category: Turn (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bands, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Banter, Don't copy to another site, Fluff, Interviews, M/M, Marriage Proposal, No Angst, TV Talk Shows, band!au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-30
Updated: 2019-04-30
Packaged: 2020-02-10 13:06:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18661021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThebanSacredBand/pseuds/ThebanSacredBand
Summary: 5 times Nathean Hale interviewed the band Culper





	Interviews with Nate Hale

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Nemainofthewater](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nemainofthewater/gifts).



> Dear Nemainofthewater, thank you so much for having me over, I had such a great time <3 Here's some fluff as a form of payment

Nate Hale first interviewed Ben Tallmadge for the student radio during their second year at college. Nate had been given a weekly slot to fill however he wanted. Part of him wanted to fill it only with Ben every week, but he wasn’t sure how well that would go down with the powers that be. (He wasn’t really sure if anyone was listening at all, but he had finally found something he was passionate about, and he didn’t want to risk it being thrown away. Even for Ben.)

In any case, Ben had repeatedly turned down his offers to ‘guest star’ on the show, saying that he had nothing interesting to say. That was, until this week. Ben had confessed that he was hoping to start a band with some friends from home, but that they needed a bass player, and that if Nate was still offering he’d really appreciate being able to take him up on that offer of an interview in the radio slot.

Nate had said yes, of course he had. He didn’t need an excuse to spend more time with his favourite person. Which is how the pair of them ended up in the cramped booth, the strains of one of Ben’s all-time favourite tracks fading out.

“Well, listeners, today I have a _very good_ friend of mine joining me here on the radio. It’s the one, the only, my first year roommate Benjamin Tallmadge, everybody! Woooo!”

Ben had suppressed a laugh, and the ‘interview’ had gone off without a hitch. It was mostly Nate asking what his favourite songs were, and playing a bunch of them.

“Well, I have to admit, dear listeners, that there is an ulterior motive for Ben allowing me to interview him today. Ben?”

“Oh, yes, well, some friends and I are starting up a band, and we’re looking for anyone that can play bass, or even another instrument if you’re interested. You’ve got a taste for the sort of music we play from the show, so send me an email if you’re interested!” He listed off his email, and flashed a grateful smile at Nate.

“Well, listeners, you can’t see Mr Tallmadge, but let me tell you, you would certainly be interested if you could! Why, I’d play with his instruments at any time, in fact –”

“Really, Mr Hale, I appreciate the complement, but I’m not sure what my boyfriend would think about that.” Nate snorted, probably not something best done in a radio booth. With a grin on his face that was probably audible to anyone who may have been listening, he announced one last song, and turned his microphone off.

The pair made their way out of the studio, blinking in the sunlight.

“Thanks for everything, Pythias,” Ben said, curling his arm around the shorter man’s shoulders

“Anything for you, Damon,” replied Nate, responding with a one armed hug, “anything.”

 

Nate had been working at the regional television network for six months before he got to interview Ben again. Well, really, he was interviewing his band, Culper. But while he liked Caleb, and found Abe amusing, (although the less said about Benedict Arnold, the better. It was a shame that he of all people was the one to respond to Ben’s radio plea), Ben was the one he was closest to.

Culper, by all accounts, would certainly not have been the first choice for interviewees. Sure, they were gaining some popularity playing at local gigs, but they weren’t even signed yet. But the planned interview had fallen through at the last minute, and Nate had managed to successfully persuade his bosses that Culper were “guaranteed” to get big, fast.

And because Nate knew them, and it was so last minute, he got sent to interview them.

To be fair, a significant portion of the interview was actually just them performing one of their original songs, so there wasn’t a lot for Nate to do other than listen to them play it ( _again_ , as if he hadn’t been around for at least half of their practises). But he did get to ask them questions about the song and why and how they wrote it, and there was plenty of light-hearted banter between them, which was easy, given how well he knew them all at this point.

(Except for Arnold. There was no banter with him. Because he is, was, and always will be, a massive asshole.)

Just before the interview ended, Nate seized the opportunity to flirt with Ben again, as he had during the radio interview. He knew Ben would be comfortable with it ( _obviously_ they’d discussed this. They weren’t massively dysfunctional), and they had both had a great laugh about it the last time.

“And so to sign off, viewers, I would like to thank Culper for their great interview, and remark that Ben Tallmadge looks like a snack, and I wouldn’t mind a piece of that.” He grinned.

Ben stuck his tongue out at him. “Why thank you, Nate, but I’m not sure what my boyfriend would say about that.”

They were still laughing together as the camera cut off back to the studio.

(Arnold looked slightly disgusted, and it was less than a month later when he abruptly left the band. In spite of the distress losing the bassist had caused Ben, Nate couldn’t help but be glad.)

 

Culper had finally hit the big leagues, and somehow, so had Nate. He had got a job working at a popular Late Night show, and about a month later Culper’s debut album had dropped, catapulting Ben and the gang to overnight fame.

And it wasn’t cheating for Nate to ‘subtly’ drop the fact that he was close to the band to his bosses, right? He’d said it just as a way to get into their good books by securing an interview with them. But apparently they’d seen a clip of their previous interview, and then they asked _him_ to conduct this interview as well.

This was Nate’s first major appearance on the show. But he was fine (mostly), wasn’t (too) nervous, because this was Ben and the boys. He knew them. He could do this.

And it was going fine. There was talk about the band, its foundation, their songs. There was banter, of course. And then, because Nate _knew_ them, he knew exactly how to make this interview particularly memorable.

“So, Culper. In the week since your album dropped you’ve gained quite the following online. On tumblr, your fans have been calling themselves Culpeppers. Thoughts?”

On the couch across from him, Caleb burst out laughing. A few seconds later Abe burst out “What?!”, apparently having taken some time to actually process what he had just been told. Nate grinned; he had hoped they hadn’t found this out yet. This was going to be great fun.

Abe’s reaction only caused Caleb to laugh harder, and even Ben couldn’t hide the grin that was spreading on his face. Robert looked like he’d rather be anywhere else, but then, Robert always looked like that. (He was still significantly better than Arnold.)

“Why are you so shocked, Abe?” Nate asked, feigning confusion. Obviously, he knew the answer, but surely it was the interviewer’s job to do a little bit of shit-stirring…

Abe was turning an almost alarming shade of red. He kept opening his mouth and shutting it again. It was Ben who eventually answered.

“Well, you see, we were originally going to name the band that, after a road that one of us lived on for some time. But Abe was very opposed to that idea, for some reason only known to him, and only agreed to stay with us if we changed it to Culper.”

“And now the fans have named themselves that!” crowed Caleb, sounding very pleased. He ruffled Abe’s hair. Abe pouted then lunged at his bandmate. Before Nate really knew what was happening, Caleb and Abe were wrestling on the floor.

“Well, Ben, as your band mates are currently distracted, let me tell you that I would definitely be your little Culpepper, if you’d have me?” He flashed Ben a grin, and Ben mirrored his expression.

“Well, I’m not sure what my boyfriend would think about that.” The pair stared at each other for a few seconds before bursting out laughing. If this was Nate’s only ever big-time interview, it was definitely worth it.

(Robert was still sat, looking straight at the camera with the most unimpressed expression imaginable. It very quickly became a meme.)

 

As much as Nate would have described his first interview for the show as a bit of a disaster, it was very popular with both the viewers and the management, and Nate somehow found himself with a weekly slot interviewing a whole host of musicians and bands. Including, of course, the next interview with Culper, after they announced their first tour.

Nate was sad that the person he was closest to was going away for a few months, but, still, he maintained his usual banter. The Culpeppers had unearthed even that first radio interview, and they seemed to enjoy the repartee between the pair, especially Nate’s feeble attempts at flirting. There was also a lot of speculation about the identity of Ben’s mysterious boyfriend.

“Oh, Ben, I’m going to miss you so much when you’re away. Can you hide me in your suitcase?”

Ben rolled his eyes, but still replied, gamely, “Oh, that’s a nice idea, Nate, but I’m not sure what my boyfriend would think of that.”

The audience laughed (more than was probably warranted), but what wasn’t expected was Abe’s reply “Yeah, _Caleb_ , what do you think of that.”

Nate froze. The audience oohed. Ben turned to face Abe, a look of confusion on his face. Caleb, who had just taken a drink, snorted it all over the table in front of them

“No offence Abe,” said Caleb, when he’d recovered, “but what the fuck.”

“What do you mean what the fuck?” Abe asked.

“I mean, what the fuck made you decide to say that.”

“Oh. I’m sorry guys, I didn’t realise it was a secret.”

Nate accidentally made eye-contact with Caleb, and suddenly they both burst out laughing, unable to control themselves. Abe looked utterly lost. Ben took pity on him, and leaned over. “Abe. Caleb and I aren’t dating. I love him, yeah, but he’s practically my brother. Where the heck did you get that idea that we were a _thing_?”

Abe started trying to explain himself, Ben looking more and more incredulous as his explanation went on. Nate and Caleb were still laughing. Robert’s head was in his hands.

“Honestly, Abraham, you’re the most oblivious person I’ve ever met.” Abe stopped his fumbled explanation to Ben and rounded on Robert.

“What? Rob? What else have I done that’s oblivious?” Robert suddenly looked alarmed, as if Abraham wasn’t supposed to hear him say that.

Fortunately for Robert, he didn’t have the time to answer Abe’s question now, because the producer had just shouted in Nate’s ear to wrap up the segment. It was probably for the best

“Ok, guys, unfortunately, that’s all we’ve got time for today. Have fun on your tour, and I hope to see you soon.” Then Nate turned to the camera. “And to the viewers, I can only apologise for the train wreck that this interview became. I hope you enjoyed it anyway.”

They did. It went viral on YouTube before the end of the next day.

 

By the time Culper had finished their tour the Late Show’s host had retired, and Nate had somehow found himself as one of the biggest names on late-night TV. And given their role in propelling him to stardom, there was no other option for his final guests on his first show but Culper.

They congratulated Nate on his promotion, teased him about the mess their previous interview had become, teased Abe about the fact he had known Ben and Caleb since they were children but still somehow thought they were dating. They discussed the tour, how it had gone, how much they had enjoyed it.

Finally, there was time for one last question. Nate hadn’t managed to squeeze his terrible flirting in yet, but he was sure he’d find a way.

“So, guys. What are your upcoming plans?” Caleb and Abe grinned. Even Robert was smiling slightly, which was unprecedented in public. “What are you guys smiling at?”

Ben took a deep breath. “Well, I… er, I was actually thinking of getting married?” He gave a crooked smile. “But I’m not sure what my boyfriend would think of that.” Nate’s heartbeat stuttered.

Ben stood up, took a few steps towards Nate, produced a ring from his jacket pocket and got down on one knee.

“Nathan Hale, you’ve been my best friend since we met on our first day at college, and the best boyfriend for almost as long. Will you do me the honour of making me the happiest man on earth, and become my husband?”

Nate couldn’t reply. He was crying. This was… this was not how he had expected this evening to go.

In his ear, the producer was telling him to get on with answering Ben, they’d been planning this for months and he couldn’t just leave his boyfriend on one knee in the middle of the studio forever, they only had a few minutes left before the show finished

Nate wasn’t really listening though. He was too busy staring at Ben. Ben, who he had loved almost as long as he had known him, who had agreed to keep their relationship a secret because both of them had ambitions, and neither wanted to just be known as the other’s boyfriend. Ben who was staring at him, the look in his eye turning into worry…

That was what spurred Nate into action. He jumped up, his chair fling backwards, and ran around his desk and into Ben’s arms.

“Yes, yes, yes. Of course I’ll marry you, Ben.”

Ben pushed the ring onto his finger, and stood up, embracing Nate tightly. The room was filed with cooing from the audience and wolf-whistling (largely from Caleb).

Then Ben pulled away slightly. “I’d very much like to kiss you. What would my fiancé thing of that?” That only set Nate off on a new round of tears. He couldn’t find his voice to answer. But he could pull Ben’s chin down so their lips could meet.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't actually know anything about the Music or TV industries, but hopefully y'all enjoyed it anyway. Let me know what you think :D


End file.
